See Me For Me
by DarkColdSummer
Summary: We see the Son of Poseidon and his heroics at camp, but do we see his troubles at school? When the rest of the Seven, minus Frank and Hazel, including Nico and Thalia, head to Goode on orders of their parents, what do they find out about the camp's Golden Boy?/Rated T for: depression, self-harm and bullying


**Short Summary: We see the Son of Poseidon and his heroics at camp, but do we see his troubles at school? When the rest of the Seven, minus Frank and Hazel, including Nico and Thalia, head to Goode on orders of their parents, what do they find out about the camp's Golden Boy?/Rated T for: depression, self-harm and bullying**

 **Extended Summary: A not-so-short one-shot dedicated to…. ADHD Awareness Month (October)! Bullying Prevention Month (October)! Dyslexia Awareness Week (2-8 October)! National Depression Screening Day (5 October)! And last but not least, Selective Mutism Month (October)! We see the Son of Poseidon and his heroics at Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter, but do we see his troubles at school? When a group of demigods (Annabeth, Jason, Nico, Thalia, Leo, Piper) heads to Goode High School on orders of their godly parents, what do they find out about the Camp Half-Blood's Golden Boy?**

 **Main Characters: Percy Jackson, Jason Grace, Annabeth Chase, Nico di Angelo, Thalia Grace, Leo Valdez, Piper McLean**

 **Side Characters: An unnamed English teacher, Sylvia (a non-important OC classmate), a group of unnamed jocks, Stephanie (a non-important OC cheerleader)**

 **Mentioned Characters: Hades, Zeus/Jupiter, Athena, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Sally Jackson, numerous unnamed teachers, Paul Blofis**

 **Pairings: Percy/Jason**

 **Warnings: Yaoi, Bullying, Selective Mutism, Out of Character, Angst, Evidence of Self-Harm, Suggestions of Suicide**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the quotes from different websites, the quote from Animal Farm, or the PJO/HoO series.**

* * *

 ** _Dyslexia_** _, also known as_ ** _reading disorder_** _, is characterised by trouble with reading despite normal intelligence. Different people are affected to varying degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, writing words, "sounding out" words in the head, pronouncing words when reading aloud and understanding what one reads._

 _~Wikipedia_

* * *

 ** _Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder_** _(_ ** _ADHD_** _) is a mental disorder of the neurodevelopmental type. It is characterised by problems paying attention, excessive activity, or difficulty controlling behaviour which is not appropriate for one's age._

 _~Wikipedia_

* * *

 ** _Bullying_** _is the use of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively dominate others. The behaviour is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception, by the bully or by others, of an imbalance of social or physical power, which distinguishes bullying from conflict. Behaviours used to assert such domination can include verbal harassment or threat, physical assault or coercion, and such acts may be directed repeatedly towards particular targets. Rationalisation of such behaviour sometimes include differences of social class, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, appearance, behaviour, body language, personality, reputation, lineage, strength, size, or ability._

 _~Wikipedia_

* * *

 ** _Selective mutism_** _(_ ** _SM_** _) is an anxiety disorder in which a person who is normally capable of speech cannot speak in specific situations or to specific people. Selective mutism usually co-exists with shyness or social anxiety. People with selective mutism stay silent even when the consequences of their silence include shame, social ostracism or even punishment._

 _~Wikipedia_

* * *

 ** _Depression_** _is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings, and sense of well-being. People with a depressed mood may be notably sad, anxious, or empty; they may also feel notably hopeless, helpless, dejected, or worthless. Other symptoms expressed may include senses of guilt, irritability, or anger. Further feelings expressed by these individuals may include feeling ashamed or an expressed restlessness. These individuals may notably lose interest in activities that they once considered pleasurable to family and friends or otherwise experience either a loss of appetite or overeating. Experiencing problems concentrating, remembering general facts or details, otherwise making decisions or experiencing relationship difficulties may also be notable factors in these individuals' depression and may also lead to their attempting or actually committing suicide._

 _~Wikipedia_

* * *

 _Accept me for who I am and not what you see. Take time to understand the pieces of me. What you see is not what you're going to get. The perception you hold of me, I'll soon make you forget. Beneath the surface, you'll find so much more. I have locked myself away within my soul's core. I'm very selective of who I show all of my colours to. The only ones who have access to my realness are those… who walk in on the truth. After being betrayed by so many who walk in the dark, I had to become the protector of my own heart. The light and the darkness cannot coincide. Very few will see who I really am inside. Accept me for who I am and not what you see. Take time to understand the pieces of me._

 _~QuoteAddicts. com-Quote #100394_

* * *

Percy noticed his eyes being covered by a palm.

"Guess who?" The person asked.

He knew that voice all too well.

"So… Nico?" He answered-whispered lightheartedly, knowing all too well that it would irritate the boy covering his eyes.

"Nope. Guess again!"

"Leo?… Wait no! I know! You're Annabeth!"

"You idiot," Jason answered in exasperation, uncovering Percy's eyes.

"Your idiot," Percy insisted softly, pecking Jason's cheek and turning around. "How'd you know I was me?"

"… We… asked around?" Jason replied slowly.

Percy blinked, finally noticing the other demigods.

"Oh. Hi guys!" He forced a grin and exclaimed in a slight whisper, waving. "What are you all doing here?"

"Joining Goode, family's orders," Annabeth sighed, rolling her eyes. "What else, Seaweed Brain?"

"I don't know, maybe visiting me?" Percy replied cheekily, still sort of whispering.

"You wish, Kelp Head," Nico groaned.

"He would have to," Leo replied. "No one visits him constantly."

"That's kinda true. I feel bad about it now," Piper thought aloud.

"Why are you dressed in so much black? Black is mine and Nico's style, not yours!" Thalia asked, pacing around Percy. "Why are you speaking so softly too?"

"Reasons. Besides the point," Percy forced another grin, still speaking softly. "Schedules?"

"Same as yours," they all chorused.

"Then let's go!" He declared in a whisper, directing everyone towards the first class.

Meanwhile, all the other students were looking at the normally almost invisible, seemingly depressed boy in shock. How was he even able to get friends, let alone a boyfriend?

* * *

Percy shuffled his feet slightly, fidgeting with the long black sleeves of his hoodie. He stood, slouching slightly and frowning at the ground.

"Perseus Jackson!" The teacher chided, causing him to flinch at the use of his full name. "Could you kindly pay more ATTENTION during class, put actual effort into your and stop disrupting class with your stupid faked questions?"

So much for trying in school.

"I'll try harder ma'am," he muttered softly, so soft that even he could barely hear it.

"Louder!"

"I'll try harder ma'am," he answered, raising his voice just barely, still facing the ground.

"Face me and say it such that the whole class can hear it!"

"I'll try harder ma'am," he groaned loudly, facing his teacher's furious face.

"You'd better!" She growled. "Sit down!"

Percy sat, feeling like one of Reyna's dogs and wondering why he even bothered to try in school anymore, completely certain that all teachers other than Paul, the Physical Health and Swimming coaches hated him.

Starting to feel restless, even though it had only been two minutes, he lay his head on the table stared out the window next to his seat and casually drummed his fingers on the table, making a rhythm. He could feel the other demigods' sympathetic stares burning into him. Both his ADHD and dyslexia were the worst out of all of them, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't help most of what he did. It was just instinct, just a part of him.

Since he essentially refused to speak much in school, he made up for his ADHD with his excessive inattention and hyperactivity, excessive for even a child with ADHD. Well, that irritated most of the teachers to no end. Needless to say, that was part of what caused his lack of popularity amongst the teachers in the first place.

The other thing was his dyslexia. None of it was his fault, it was simply his genetics to understand Greek much easier compared to other languages. The words just seemed to swim and rewrite themselves into something that didn't make sense. None of the teachers who understood (really only Paul) taught him, allowing him to only do well in Physical Health, Swimming and his elective, Greek. The Greek teacher didn't like him for knowing more than she did, so he wasn't really on her good side either.

"Jackson!"

His teacher's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Hm?" He grunted, standing up.

"Your turn to read a chapter," she demanded. "You've tricked your way out of the past few but you have no choice now."

Percy paled under his hoodie while the other demigods shot glares at the teacher.

"Do I have to?" He groaned.

"Yes."

He squinted at the text, watching as it squirmed and twisted and reshaped itself.

"…As winner? Winter grove… drove on, Moll… Mollie cane… became more and more tribustim….? Troublesome. She saw… was-"

"Shut it Jackson and read properly! We don't need to hear mistakes every few words!" The English teacher screamed in frustration.

The entire class, lacking of the demigods, laughed. The demigods themselves simply exchanged worried glances. It seemed almost as if this was a daily occurrence (which it was).

A girl raised up her hand. "Ma'am, I think we should let someone else take over."

The demigods sighed in relief.

"And why should we, Sylvia?" The teacher asked skeptically.

"Because its obvious he's an idiot, a retard who can't say a thing right," the girl, Sylvia, answered smugly.

The class laughs again, still lacking of the demigods who were instead, looking worriedly at the boy still standing up, suffering the harsh words of the teacher and his classmates. Surely the teachers wouldn't allow such insults to be thrown around!

"True, Sylvia. No point getting the stupid and unteachable to do things far beyond their capabilities," the teacher smirked. "Jackson, sit."

Percy sat down, his face stony, though still hidden by the hoodie, but the hurt feeding the pain under his mask. It didn't matter, he was used to it anyway.

Jason watched his boyfriend in suspicion. Somehow, it seemed that Percy was being extremely silent and that his restlessness was more than just ADHD, even for his standards.

Basically, the demigods were forced to watch in silence as their friend/cousin/boyfriend was constantly tortured by the words, until lunch.

* * *

Lunch was no better of an affair.

"Hey there new kids, wanna join me and my friends at our table? I'm sure we can accommodate you," Stephanie, whom they had learnt was a popular cheerleader, invited the new demigods.

"I'm sorry, we have to accompany a friend of ours," Piper declined sweetly, before deciding to add charmspeak. "We would appreciate it if you left us alone."

The girl nodded slowly, as if in a daze and left the group, along with all the other teens surrounding them.

Nico looked around desperately. "We've lost Percy!"

"He's probably at the cafeteria. Let's go there to look for him," Annabeth suggested, the others following her lead.

"Something feels off though…" Nico mumbled under his breath.

The group walked past a few classrooms and were near the lockers when they saw a group of jocks surrounding a boy. Two jocks restrained the arms and legs of the boy while the others gathered around, laughed, and threw in a few punches, kicks and insults.

"So, mute. Heard from a little birdie that you finally spoke up today in class and with those 'friends' of yours. What made you talk to them and not us? Special treatment for your 'friends' huh?" The head jock taunted, kneeing the boy in the stomach.

"Nah, maybe he grew back a tongue after he got it chopped off at his rehab center. You know, from killing someone?" Another jock next to the head jock supplied.

"Probably." General agreement rumbled amongst the jocks.

"Besides, haven't you learnt? Your so called 'friends' will abandon you sooner or later for someone like me. So suck it up," the head jock continued.

The demigods squinted. A black hoodie, raven hair, sea green eyes, black pants, dark blue backpack… Wait what? Sea green eyes? A sinking feeling formed in their stomachs.

"But… Why's Percy letting the jock do that to him?" Piper whispered. "He's stronger than that."

"Maybe…" Leo muttered. "Maybe he thinks he deserves it. You know, fatal flaw loyalty and all that stuff?"

"Who cares?! I'm not letting some good-for nothing jock beat up my cousin!" Thalia declared before walking up to the jocks. "What do you think you're doing?!"

The jocks turned around.

"What does it look like? We're teaching him a lesson, of course!" Side jock answered, none of the jocks noticing Percy's flinch.

Nico growled lowly, letting the shadows slink towards him slowly.

"And what has he ever done wrong to you?" He demanded, stepping up next to his cousin to defend their technically younger cousin together.

"… He existed, duh!" Head jock spat out, making Percy shrink into himself.

Sparks started sparking off Thalia ever so slightly. What had they done to Percy to make him cower in fear? He beat Kronos and Gaia! He shouldn't be scared of some good-for-nothing bullies!

"Simply existing is not good enough of a reason to beat someone up," Jason reasoned, placing a palm on his sister's shoulder to calm her down and joining the group too, leading the other demigods to step up, standing behind the three children of the Big Three.

The head jock snarled at them before whispering to Percy, "This isn't over Jackson."

The jocks let go of him, letting him crumple to the floor, before stalking off towards the cafeteria.

"New kids? You better choose which group you want to be with quickly before you join him," head jock suggested, nodding towards Percy.

Ignoring him, the demigods crowded over Percy. Thalia offered a hand to help Percy up but he simply shook his head firmly and declined.

That's when they all remembered that the jock called Percy a 'mute'. Then they coupled it with the fact that he hadn't spoken since the first lesson, English. Annabeth's eyes widened in sudden understanding.

"Selective mutism…" She muttered under her breath. "Its been… Three-quarters of a year since summer. Three whole quarters of a year of constant bullying. Lack of visits at camp… Lowered self-confidence? Selective mutism due to anxiety and fear of speaking up. Bullying? More extreme than normal maybe, seemed like whole school is against him. Teacher trouble… Talk to Paul? No. Bring this up directly to the principal and hope for the best?"

"What are you muttering about Annabeth?" Piper asked the daughter of wisdom.

"Nothing, just… Everyone leave Percy be for a while, just leave the person you think he's most comfortable with," Annabeth suggested.

All gazes were instantly split between Jason and Annabeth as the rest of the demigods backed away slowly. Jason simply exchanged glances with Annabeth and shrugged, his eyes communicating his message 'The both of us can go together'.

"Hey Perce?" Jason started slowly, placing a palm on Percy's shoulder, causing the latter to flinch and the former to instantly retract his hand. "Sorry."

"Come on Percy, let's go eat lunch," Annabeth coaxed, knowing Percy would perk up with the thought of food.

Percy shook his head firmly, shocking the duo.

"Then let's go to the next class?" Annabeth questioned.

Percy tapped the ground in a flurry, pausing once in a while.

"Yes?" Jason questioned.

Percy tapped the ground again.

"Morse code?" Annabeth asked, taking a wild guess.

Percy nodded.

"Get Leo, he knows the Morse Code," Jason suggested.

Annabeth nodded in approval and left.

Jason simply sat on the ground next to Percy and waited.

* * *

"So… Annabeth here told me that you're communicating in Morse Code now and the know-it-all Daughter of Athena has no idea how to decipher Morse Code," Leo said.

"Shush. This gap in my knowledge shall never be spoken of," Annabeth hushed Leo.

"Anyways," Leo continued, waving Annabeth off. "Shall I act as your translator?"

A short series of taps along with a nod.

"So what is the first thing to be translated?"

Another series of taps.

"Um… Annabeth?" Leo asked. "He doesn't remember what you were talking about."

Annabeth held back a laugh. "Oh Percy… I asked you if you wanted to go to the next class."

"He says that he can't because all the teachers won't allow him and Paul is always teaching during his lunch break."

"Oh. So where do you want to go?"

"He says to stay put here, with everyone."

"Including overprotective Thalia and Nico?"

"Especially overprotective Thalia and Nico."

* * *

"So… What does Kelp Head want all of us here for?" Nico asked.

A series of taps.

"He says he's sorry for not speaking," Leo translated. "He just doesn't want to speak, especially not in school."

"And is there a way to let him speak without anyone else other than us hearing?" Annabeth asked.

"Mist?" Thalia suggested.

"Charmspeak?" Piper said at the same time.

"Those work I guess, Mist better though, I think," Jason replied.

Thalia closed her eyes for a few seconds.

"We have been 'Misted' to not be here. There is instead a cabinet here that no one bothers to open since it is chock full of nonsensical stuff. Our teachers are aware that none of us are feeling well and are currently in the sick bay and the sick bay people have supposedly sent us home," Thalia reported.

"So Percy? Ready to speak?" Annabeth prodded.

Said demigod in question tapped out a reply.

"Give him a moment," Leo said.

"So how you all fine Goode so far?" Annabeth asked in an effort to make Percy more comfortable.

"Its… a school," Nico started.

"Schools are stupid," Leo added.

"Schools are strange and the students are stranger," Thalia sighed.

"The cheerleaders are ugly. Too much make up, there's probably enough to coat a cake!" Piper wailed in frustration. "The jocks don't even look that strong either!"

"Too obvious social hierarchy in this one," Jason commented.

"Yeah, so basically school is stupid," another voice whispered.

The demigods turned to Percy, grinning similar grins as him at him. (Well wasn't that confusing?)

"I wanna go back to camp but mom won't let me since school is good for me," Percy continued, rubbing his wrists, his small grin turning into a frown, the other demigods following. "Supposedly."

Jason took a quick one over of the boy next to him.

"Percy," he started suspiciously. "What are those scars on your wrists?"

Everyone else tried to get a closer look as Percy rubbed his wrist lightly again.

"Some things you just don't want to know," he whispered softly.

"Percy…" Nico muttered.

"Kelpy…" Thalia added warningly.

They heard a string of Ancient Greek come out of said person's mouth, translating into something to the extent of "Stupid overprotective cousins." The duo grinned widely at that.

"No," Percy said firmly, raising his voice to a normal speaking tone. "You wouldn't accept me."

"Yes we would," Thalia insisted.

"No," Percy retorted. "You wouldn't, so don't lie."

"Charmspeak required before they turn this into a war?" Leo nudged Piper.

She sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Percy, Thalia, stop arguing."

The duo did as she said.

"Percy, could you please show us the scars?" Piper continued, unknowing putting charmspeak into her words.

A visible struggle could be seen in Percy's eyes as his right hand shook, reaching for the left sleeve of his long-sleeved hoodie. Then, his eyes glazed over and he pulled back the sleeve of that one before reaching for the other and doing the same. At that, the charmspeak wore off and everyone was left speechless.

Scars, neat scars in rows, were engraved across both his arms. Some seemed still raw, some looked barely healed, some looked weeks or months old. Clear evidence of self-harm. Then four scars, all breaking the pattern of horizontal, trailed two blood vessels, two scars per blood vessels. Evidence of at least one suicide attempt.

Percy snapped out of his daze and pulled down both of the sleeves of the hoodie, accidentally throwing down his hood in the process. The demigods gasped. Percy was pale, paler than should be, thin, thinner than should be. He looked weak, and tired, both of life and of lack of sleep. Sunken eye bags stared at them, the eyes looking red and sore from lack of sleep. He pulled the hood down again.

"Told you so," the broken leader of Camp Half-Blood muttered bitterly, curling up into a ball as the other demigods looked at him with pitiful expressions.

* * *

 **Word Count: 3215 words (Or somewhere around there)**

* * *

 _(A/N: And that's a wrap! Um. This one was for a lot of things. Like, ADHD Awareness Month (October), Bullying Awareness Month (October), Dyslexia Awareness Week (2-8 October), Selective Mutism Awareness Month (October) and National Depression Screening Day [in... I don't know which country] (5 October). So I basically challenged myself too much. BUT I hope you enjoyed it. The ending is left open to speculation because I don't know what to do with them next. Maybe go see a psychiatrist? Maybe get Sally to let Percy skip out on school and go to camp? Maybe have a big bonding session right there?_

 _Anyone who's reading this... Can you drop a review or PM on whether you want a fanfiction with bonding on the Argo II. I won't reveal too much, but the characters that are bonding are the Seven and the Greek children of the Big Three. I don't find it very fair to throw seven demigods together, barely knowing each other, and tell them they have to fight a war together. Scratch that. I'm publishing it and everyone's got to deal with it. More like have published now. Urgh. Stupid allocated days for publishing. (Its 26th September when I'm here and completed the fanfiction whoops.)_

 _Kinda important thing, do you want me to continue this and make into a two-shot? Because if so, I'll try and see what I can do._

 _Besides the point..._

 _Peace!  
Summer)_


End file.
